Colorado: Trade mission heads for Scandinavia

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
Colorado businesses are looking for trade prospects in Scandinavia.

Colorado businesses are looking for trade prospects in Scandinavia. Photo courtesy NASA.

Bioscience and IT companies look for prospects in an economically strong part of Europe

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Colorado business leaders are looking to strengthen ties with Scandinavia with some help from the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade, which will will lead a delegation of Colorado bioscience and IT companies to Denmark and Sweden from May 13-17, 2013.

Participating companies will meet with foreign partners who will help the companies sell their products and services to the region. Biomedical products are already a huge part of Colorado’s exports.

The trade mission will help the companies to increase their international sales, leading to job retention and creation in Colorado. Companies participating in the trade mission are AD RescueWear, Couragent Inc, DH2i Company and Swan Valley Medical. (more…)

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Colorado: Vail Resorts says mid-winter business rebounded

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Major capital investments announced for upcoming seasons

Vail Resorts is talking up the Peak 6 expansion at Breckenridge as part of its capital investment plan for the coming season.

Vail Resorts is talking up the Peak 6 expansion at Breckenridge as part of its capital investment plan for the coming season.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Vail Resorts said business bounced back after a slow start to the season, with some of the company’s resorts posting record business during the Christmas holiday period. VR’s net income climbed 30.5 percent, to $60.5 million in the second fiscal quarter compared to last season, with skier visits up 2.9 percent and mountain net revenue up by 9.5 percent.

“We are very pleased with our performance in the second quarter of fiscal 2013, which was notable for two distinct dynamics we experienced in the quarter,” VR CEO Rob Katz said this week during a call announcing the company’s second quarter earnings. “The first was our results through the middle of December, which were marked by unusually warm and dry weather in Colorado that limited the terrain we could open, leading to lower than expected results for our four Colorado resorts.  (more…)

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Colorado skier visits take another big hit

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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An early season snow drought dampened skier visits in Colorado. Bob Berwyn photo.

Ski resort trade group reports early season double-digit drop for the second year in a row

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — For the second year in a row, Colorado ski areas were hit hard by a lack of early season snow, as skier visits dipped 11.5 percent for the period spanning opening day to Dec. 31. Last winter, the state’s ski resort association reported that visits dropped 10 percent from the year before that.

Variable snow conditions and some late openings were factors in the decline, according to Colorado Ski Country USA president and CEO Melanie Mills.

“First period is largely fueled by in-state visitors, and an unseasonably warm October and November kept many Coloradans from tallying lots of ski days,” Mills said. “Snow did not arrive in earnest until mid-December, but when it came, it was in time for in-state and out-of-state guests to enjoy wonderful wintery holidays at resorts.” (more…)

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Insurance industry tunes into global warming risks

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Big business keenly aware of potential climate change costs

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November 2012 was another very warm month for much of the planet. Graphic courtesy NASA.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — In a sure sign that the global warming denial movement is losing ground quickly, some of the world’s most calculating businesses, including the insurance industry, are paying more and more attention to climate change.

In the long run, the political bickering over climate policy may not seem so important if the country’s largest companies start to take the issue seriously. Proof that climate is more than just a theoretical concept for corporations comes from a study published last week in the journal Science.

“Weather- and climate-related insurance losses today average $50 billion a year. These losses have more than doubled each decade since the 1980s, adjusted for inflation,” said lead author Evan Mills, a scientist in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab)’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division. “Insurers have become quite adept at quantifying and managing the risks of climate change, and using their market presence to drive broader societal efforts at mitigation and adaptation.” (more…)

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Skiing: Winter reservations up in Breckenridge

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Lodging community recaps strong summer performance

Winter reservations in Breckenridge are pacing ahead of last winter.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — Tourism in the high country continues to climb back from the deep  recession, with the Breckenridge Chamber reporting that 2012 summer occupancy and average room rates both climbed in tandem for the first time since 2008.

For now, Breckenridge is outpacing some other resorts in terms of winter reservations, 16 percent ahead of last year at this time, according to Scott Fortner, marketing director for the Breckenridge Resort Chamber.

Fortner said the encouraging trend can partly be attributed to the town’s status as a mature resort that offers plenty of activities along with skiing and snowboarding. Group business has also been increasing, which helps push occupancy rates up, he said. (more…)

Filed under: Breckenridge Ski Resort, business, Colorado, economy, Ski Resorts, Snow and weather, Summit County Colorado, Summit County news, Summit County snow and weather | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Levis quietly adopts a climate-change strategy

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

More companies incorporating global warming considerations into business plans.

Jeans maker sees potential threats to water, cotton in a warming world

By Mike Bellamente

When an iconic figure makes a bold statement, conventional wisdom suggests that the statement is meant to be heard. Lady Gaga didn’t don a meat dress to the 2010 MTV music awards because it was high fashion, just as Iran isn’t necessarily enriching uranium to advance their stock in nuclear energy.

So earlier this month when Levi Strauss & Company (LS&CO) released their 2012 Climate Change Strategy (view announcement or download the PDF), it seems counter-intuitive that so little media fanfare accompanied the launch. Shouldn’t Chip Bergh, LS&CO’s CEO, be out seeking airtime with Good Morning America and the talk show circuit for recognition?  (more…)

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Global warming: Businesses see ‘tangible and present risk’

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Investor support for addressing climate change is growing

August 2012 temperature anomalies compared to the 1951-1980 average. Courtesy NASA.

* Republished from Climate Progress under a content exchange agreement

By Stephen Lacey

The number of large corporations reporting current risks from climate change has grown substantially over the last two years.

According to a survey of 405 of the biggest global companies conducted by the Carbon Disclosure Project, 37 percent say they are already seeing the impact of climate change on their business — up from 10 percent in 2010. (more…)

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Environment: Plastics industry fights bag and bottle bans

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Environmental hazard, health benefit … depends who’s talking.

Economic and health arguments used to try and stem growing community efforts to reduce plastic pollution

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — With growing awareness that plastic trash is having serious impacts on aquatic environments, especially in the oceans, communities around the world are moving to reduce the reliance on single-use plastic bags and other sources of plastic.

At the same time, the industry is pushing back, setting up a classic environmental battle. Instead of figuring out a way to be part of the solution instead of the problem, plastic bag manufacturers are making an economic argument, trying to show with questionable studies that plastic bag bans impact sales and employment.

It’s a pretty typical tactic, commonly used by the energy industry, but it has the potential to be effective. In one recent example, a conservative think tank, the National Center for Policy Analysis, issued a press release purporting to show that employment at stores affected by a bag ban fell by 10 percent in the past year, and that sales dropped by 6 percent compared to nearby areas without a ban, where sales supposedly grew by 9 percent during the same time. Here’s a link to the study. (more…)

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Overseas visitors to U.S. spend record $153 billon in 2011

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

International visits grow by 8.1 percent from 2010

Growing visits to national parks like Badlands is a big part of the federal government's push to increase tourism.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY —Thanks in part to a favorable exchange rate, international tourist visits to the U.S. surged in 2011, contributing to an 8.1 percent increase in domestic and international tourism spending.

A big factor was an influx of international travelers — up 2.5 million to a total of 62 million for the year, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department this week. The department estimates that the growth in tourism supports an additional 103,000 jobs.

Altogether, visitors from overseas spent an all-time record  $153 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services in 2011, making travel and tourism the country’s number-one service export. The figures come on the heels of President Obama’s announcement of new initiatives to significantly increase travel and tourism in the U.S. (more…)

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U.S. tourism industry seeks easier access for travelers

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Easing visa requirements, cutting wait time  at airports and boosting youth travel seen as crucial to sustaining tourism growth

Locals and tourist line Main Street in Frisco, Colorado, to watch the annual Independence Day parade, one of the biggest events of the year in the small Rocky Mountain town.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — The Colorado high country could benefit — at least indirectly — from a sweeping effort to boost international visitation to the U.S. under a national travel and tourism strategy being developed by the Obama administration.

The U.S. State Department has already added 100 workers and expanded hours to process tourist visa applications in China and Brazil, both seen as key markets for the U.S. tourism market. A new consular facility in Beijing should increase visa interview capacity by 50 percent, and consular officers in Brazil can now waive interviews for applicants younger than 15 and older than 66.

The U.S. Travel Association believes even more can be done to spur travel, which could potentially add thousands of new jobs and result in millions of dollars in revenue for American businesses. (more…)

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